Experiments on Buratto

A friend from Florence sent me a small piece of cotton Buratto woven by the Fondazione Lisio to test out.

This is not the modern version of Buratto that looks somewhat like burlap, this is recently hand woven fabric made in the ancient technique and on an ancient hand loom in an effort to produce a reproduction of the ancient Buratto, historically used in Italy. I told you a little about it previously in this post.

This is what the weave looks like on the Buratto from the Fondazione Lisio:

I mounted it on my slate frame which, happily was the perfect size, this piece of Buratto was 23 cm wide:

I think I may have mounted it incorrectly but it was good and taut and that's all I cared about. Then I went about experimenting.

The first motif I chose from Alessandro Paganino's 16th century pattern book called: Il Burato. I did it in a horizontal darning stitch with Coton a Broder no. 12 Ecru. Too bad I have since discovered that the no. 12 Coton a Broder in my stash is no longer available to purchase. I liked the coverage I got with the thread used.

After that I thought about Catherine de'Medici Embroidery and so I got out some Cotone Povero yarn and did a little dividing line under the Paganino motif.

Then I thought about other kinds of embroideries that were traditionally done on Buratto. Both Sicilian and Sardinian netted work came to mind so I decided to do a motif in the Linen Stitch using some Sardinian linen thread that a friend had given me. I chose a motif from GiovanAndrea Vavassore's 16th century pattern book called: Opera Nuova Universale intitolata Corona di Ricami.

Oh how I struggled with the linen thread but I think I would have even if the Buratto had been made of silk. And speaking of silk, I wanted to do my last motif in silk yarn that I have which is similar in thickness to the Cotone Povero but made of silk and viscose of Bamboo. I tried several motifs but was unhappy with the results, the silk yarn was too thick for more than one pass in Darning Stitch and looked strange for parts of the motifs where there was only one square of design.

I thought about it for a dangerously long time until it was in danger of become a UFO (unfinished object). I really wanted to use the silk/bamboo thread.

Well, I told myself, just do something in Catherine de'Medici stitch and be done! I hunted around in the Punto Madama Caterina book of patterns from the Accademia Punto Assisi and found a small motif.

The silk/bamboo thread was a dream after the linen thread but untwisted quickly and left a lot of fluff everywhere. I love the twisted-rope effect of the Catherine de'Medici stitch!

All in all, I would say that this ancient-style Buratto by the Fondazione Lisio has been given a fair test by me. It held up well to the many times I ripped out threads of all types. Now to unmount it and see what happens when I wash it!

I put my Buratto with some towels on the hand-wash cycle in the washing machine, then blocked it on a big fluffy towel face-down and ironed it dry. My blocking could have been better but here it is:

The cotton woven threads of the Buratto plumped up and so, of course, the holes got smaller. It shrunk about 2 cm from selvedge to selvedge (left and right sides in the photo) and I washed it in cold water. The Buratto is really soft after washing! My darning-stitched motif at the top is more filled-in, the silk/bamboo lost a lot of it's definition and thus I think I prefer the unwashed silk/bamboo thread better as you can see the effect of the Catherine de'Medici stitch.

I'm really impressed with the linen stitch! For all the zillions of times I ripped out and started over, the unwashed motif was uneven and you could really see the uneven thickness of the linen thread. After washing though, it looks good!

Unwashed

Washed

Traditional applications were things like flounces for curtains, pillows, tablecloths, inserts, ecc. I think you could also use it on clothing as it is so soft after washing. This should interest the folks who do period re-enactments.

The Fondazione Lisio has plans to try other materials like silk in future Buratto experiments. I am very glad that they have succeeded in helping to continue the ancient tradition of Buratto hand woven fabric. Watch their website for more news.

This was lots of fun! A few embroiderers were asked to participate in these experiments so I'm very interested to see everyone's results! There should be some posted soon on the TuttoRicamo blog.

A heartfelt thank you to the Fondazione Lisio for allowing me this opportunity and to my Florentine friend for thinking of me when searching out people to experiment on Buratto!

La Sirena - The Siren

Besides monsters, I love finding Mermaids and/or Sirens in embroidery and lace. I can't tell you why and you could even say that the Siren is a type of sea monster.

From Giovanni Ostaus' La Vera Perfezione del Disegno per Punti e Ricami (1561):


They are always wicked in the old tales and it was probably not until Hans Christian Andersen that there was a sympathetic tale of these creatures - don't quote me, I'm not up on my Mermaid/Siren history. The Greeks didn't even associate them with the sea but the Romans did and since we're talking about Italy, let's go with the Romans! You do need to know however that Sirens get some bird-like history from the Greeks so sometimes they are depicted with wings. Enough background – on to the Sirens in needlework!

From Cesare Vecellio's Corona delle nobili e virtuose donne (1592):


Years ago when searching for Italian patterns, I came across the Coraggio Sampler by The Scarlet Letter. This sampler has all kinds of things I like including monsters and a Mermaid. I actually came across a sampler in an Italian museum with the Mermaid from this sampler on it but I didn't note it down and now I'd love to know where I saw it!! Anyone know? Please leave me a comment below!

I like the documentation that goes with the Coraggio Sampler, it has references to 16th century antique pattern books. I ordered it with all the silk threads and then decided to modify it with other antique Italian motifs I liked so it sits on the floor stand in my living room and once in awhile I sit and put in a few stitches on it. I'm afraid it has been sitting there for years.

There are several needle lace Sirens in Merletti e Ricami della Aemilia Ars (1929) including several on a round table centre on the cover which was a piece commissioned "from America", I tried to scan it but unfortunately I can't get a good scan, you'll have to take my word for it...

... there is also this Heraldic design by Arcangelo Passerotti from his Libro di Lavorieri (1591):


In the same book there is this one done in Filet lace for a tablecloth, the design is from Giovanandrea Vavassore's Esemplario di Lavori (c. 1530):


I have always liked the Siren in Elisa Ricci's Old Italian Lace (1913):


I took a crack a charting the design, what do you think? She's pretty scary!


You can download some of Elisa Ricci's books and some antique pattern books from the Online Digital Archive of Documents, or you can purchase a collection of 5 antique pattern books together in one volume from Italian Needlecrafts.

Antique Pattern Books

In the early twentieth century Italian needlework scholar Elisa Ricci edited the reprints of five 16th century pattern books for embroidery and lace.

Last year these reprints were collected together and reprinted again in one volume called Disegni per Merletti e Ricami [Designs for Lace and Embroidery] edited by Bianca Rosa Bellomo. Pattern books included in this volume are: I singolari e nuovi disegni per lavori di biancheria by Federico Vinciolo, La vera perfectione del disegno per punti e ricami by Giovanni Ostaus, Il Burato: libri de Ricami by Alessandro Paganino, and two by Giovanandrea Vavassore: Opera nuova universale intitolata Corona di Ricami and Esemplario di lavori: che insegna alle donne il modo e l'ordine di lavorare.

For the presentation of Disegni per Merletti e Ricami, Bianca Rosa asked several needlework friends to stitch patterns from the volume in whatever technique they liked. The pieces were then part of a display at the Italia Invita Forum in Parma in May of 2009. The stitched pieces were displayed beside a printout of the pattern chosen from the antique pattern books. It was a delightful display to look at!! (Click on the little photos on the linked page to look closer)

Later in May the works were displayed again in Bologna. It was very difficult to pick which ones to show you so this is a random pick of one design from each author:

Vinciolo:

Ostaus:


Paganino:


Vavassore I:


Vavassore II:


I saw both displays and can tell you that it was fascinating to look at the different interpretations of each pattern. I noticed things in Bologna that I hadn't paid attention to in Parma – I could have looked forever!

You can read more about Elisa Ricci at the Italian Embroidery website Tuttoricamo, click on the British flag for the English pages and look under 'prominent characters'.

Disegni per Merletti e Ricami can be purchased here. (Send an email request.)

Thanks to Elisabetta for the Paganino photo.